Conwy Police Station

Cadw's description

Location

Occupying the NW side of the square between Bangor Road and York Place.

History

Probably built in the 1860s and the police station shown on this site in a map of Conwy in Black’s Guide to North Wales, 1869. It is also shown on the 1889 Ordnance Survey.

Exterior

A castellated 2-storey police station of grey pebble-dashed walls with dressed-stone quoins, dressings and bands, on a battered rendered plinth. The steep slate roof is behind an embattled parapet and coped gables on moulded kneelers, and has end stacks of brick on stone bases. The 3-bay front has an asymmetrical accent provided by an advanced gabled bay set back from the L end, which is under a crow-stepped gable with blank shield and pinnacle. A string course is between storeys. The central entrance has a heavy moulded surround and a replacement boarded door under an earlier overlight. Mullioned windows incorporate 2-pane margin-lit sashes to the ground floor, and shorter 1st-floor windows of 1 over 2 panes. The L-hand bay has 2-light windows. The central bay has an offset 2-light 1st-floor window, and the R-hand bay has a 2-light ground-floor window and single-light 1st-floor window. Between storeys the central and R-hand bay have a wide inscription tablet with 'Police Station' in raised letters. In the L-hand bay is a cast-iron street sign above the ground-floor window.
The 2-window L gable end to Bangor Road has 1-light windows to the outer sides. The 1-window R gable end to York Place has windows in each storey with sashes incorporating 2 lower panes. Set slightly back from the gable end is a lower 2-storey 3-window wing, with details similar to the main range but without embattlement, and with sashes of 1 over 2 panes. It has a panel door L of centre, and 2-light windows except for a single-light window upper R. Facing Bangor Road is another lower and shorter 2-storey 1-window rear wing, set slightly back from the gable end of the main range. It has small sash windows, of which the 1st-floor window has 2 panes in its lower sash. The rear of the building is enclosed by a high pebble-dashed yard wall with concrete embattlements and rendered quoins which, facing York Place, incorporates a panel door.
The forecourt has a ramp to the R side of the entrance and stone steps at the front to square panelled piers with shallow pyramid caps. A pebble-dashed parapet wall has freestone coping.

Interior

Not inspected.

Reason for designation

Listed for its special architectural interest as a C19 police station of definite character, and for its contribution to the historical townscape of Lancaster Square.